It is not enough to simply conserve our soil and water resources. The challenge is to restore them."Mark Berkland, President, SWCS

UPCOMING EVENTS

MICHIGAN CHAPTER SWCS

SUMMER TOUR

Urban Stormwater Managementin Kalamazoo

Western Michigan University andKalamazoo County Drain Commission, Kalamazoo, Michigan(Starting point to be announced)9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.Friday, August 28, 2015Lunch (included) at the WMU Cafeteria

This summer tour will explore urban stormwater management in and around the Kalamazoo area. First, Participants will meet at Western Michigan University where we will spend the morning exploring what the school is doing to eliminate stormwater discharge from their campus. One such project was in the South Korhman/Richmond Center area where underground structures were used to collect runoff and provide for slow discharge into the ground below.

Then, we will enjoy lunch on campus and then board a trolley for an afternoon tour of projects completed by the Kalamazoo County Drain Commissioner’s Office. We will hear the story of how drains were historically managed in Kalamazoo County and what steps have been taken recently to improve drain management. Tour stops will include two urban streambank restoration projects: one completed several years ago and one that will likely be under construction at the time of the tour. Afternoon field conditions may be somewhat rugged and inaccessible to persons in wheelchairs.

Watch this site for more details, including starting point and speaker bios.

Register below using your credit/debit card or PayPal account; or download, print and mail this form with payment. The deadline for registration is Friday, August 21.

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ON-LINE REGISTRATION

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MOST RECENT EVENTS

MI-SWCS SPRING HIGHWAY CLEANUP HELD FRIDAY, MAY 1ST, IN EAST LANSING

ABOVE: TWO OF SIX VOLUNTEERS WORKING ON THE MICHIGAN CHAPTER SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION SOCIETY'S ADOPT A HIGHWAY SECTION IN EAST LANSING, MICHIGAN.

MICHIGAN CHAPTER SWCS SEMINAR

Held March 6, 2015, atKellogg Hotel and Conference CenterMichigan State University, East Lansing, MI

A MATTER OF BALANCE: Feeding our Crops and Protecting our Water in a Changing Climate

On-farm nutrient management has greatly improved in the past twenty-five years yet water quality problems associated with algae blooms and oxygen depletion persist in Lake Erie, Saginaw Bay and other waterways. Climate change is likely to present even greater challenges from more frequent, higher intensity storms and increased runoff. This conference will examine the linkage between cropping practices and nutrient enrichment of runoff and drainage water, and offer practical solutions for capturing and cycling nitrogen, phosphorus and other potential contaminants in the root zone. (More)

Dr. Nathan Moore, Assistant ProfessorDepartment of GeographyMichigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan Presentation:"Past and projected future impacts of climate on agriculture in the Great Lakes region"

NEWSLETTERS

Previous Year's Newsletters can be accessed under the Archives sub-tabunder the "About Us" tab.

OTHER SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION EVENTS

NONE CURRENTLY KNOWN

INFORMATION FROM PAST EVENTS

MICHIGAN CHAPTER SWCS WORKSHOP FIELD TRIP

Held on Monday, October 27, 2014Shanty Creek Resort, Bellaire, Michigan

The
SWCS Michigan Chapter headed outdoors to explore area farms in Northern
Michigan. Participants enjoyed discussions about Michigan agriculture
and heard first-hand from producers who are working to protect the
environment and the state's natural resources.

Producers
highlighted their participation in programs like the Michigan
Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program or MAEAP, Farm Bill programs
and innovations implemented on their operations.

The tour stops included the following:

Shooks Family Farm who celebrated their 100th year of farming this year. Check out their website at: http://shooksfarms.weebly.com/The
Shooks Family grow about 1100 acres of corn, soybeans, hay and
cherries. They also raise more than 450 Holstein beef cattle which they
provide to area restaurants and the Central Lake Public Schools. Shooks
Family Farm celebrated their 100th year of farming this year.

King Orchards. http://kingorchards.comFirst
generation farmers and brothers, John and Jim King, along with their
families grow more than 180 acres of Montmorency tart cherries for use
in making their tart charry juice concentration as well as black sweet
cherries, Balaton cherries, peaches, apples, pears, plums, nectarines
and apricots.

FALL CROPS ARE STILL BEING HARVESTED OUTDOORS AS THE FALL COLORS ARE SHOWING IN THE TREES.

MICHIGAN CHAPTER 2014 FALL TOUR

This
tour was held on Saturday, September 20th, starting at 10:00 am in Pellston where
the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians Tribal Fish hatchery was toured. Lunch was at the City Park Grill in Petoskey. Then the tour
proceeded to Coveyou Centennial Farms - regional leaders in
conservation. The tour was free, and ended about 3:00 p.m.

Soil
health and water quality are intrinsically linked, and management of
these resources faces great challenges due to emerging ecological,
economic and climatic pressures. It is important, now more than ever, to
support soil’s natural ability to filter water that moves across and
through a landscape. Establishing conservation practices that support a
balanced relationship between soil health and water quality is a proven
best management practice in agricultural production. Management choices
that fail to recognize and protect the physical, chemical, and
biological attributes of healthy soil have the potential to jeopardize
water quality and ecological productivity.

“Soil not only holds environmental and agricultural importance; it is vital to ensuring the growth of a healthy economy.”1 In
this Seminar, we will examine emerging practices to mitigate the
vulnerability of our soil and water resources to changing climatic,
market and land use conditions in the context of our global challenge to
meet growing demand.

MACKINAC ISLAND FALL TOURHeld Saturday, October 5, 2013

The Michigan Chapter Soil and Water Conservation Society held their Fall Touring event on Mackinac Island on Saturday, October 5. The event included three tours. The Mackinac Island Geology and Natural Features Tour was held in the morning, and the Composting Site/Wastewater Treatment Facility Tour and the Grand Hotel Green Initiatives Tour were held in the afternoon.

We had a buffet lunch at the Grand Hotel at noon. The legendary Grand Luncheon Buffet is one of the highlights of the Grand Hotel experience.

Here is information about, and photos from, the tours.

Composting Site/Wastewater Treatment Facility Tour

We first biked to the Island’s Recycling and Solid Waste Composting Operation. This site is vitally important, since every dumpster of trash shipped to a landfill on the mainland costs $1,100. Sorting materials that can be recycled or composted is the job of every resident and business. Mackinac Island has the only approved municipal solid waste composting operation in the state. More.

Empty bottles and other recyclable plastics are brought in from throughout the island and converted to bales to be shipped to a processor off the island.

The value of the recycled materials nearly pays for the operation.

Materials that can be composted are shredded, mixed and added to the composting operation that includes several large bins and a loader to move the material.

We then biked to the Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP). (Location map) Upgrades have been made recently to ensure long-term compliance with its discharge limits. The upgrades were designed to take into account the large fluctuation in flows and loads observed at the plant as a result of seasonal tourism on the island. More.

The project included new influent flow metering, a new summer headworks facility, a new winter mechanical screen, and many other upgrades. Mackinac Island received low interest loans and American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grants to cover the costs of the project through the U. S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Development agency. More.

Grand Hotel “Green Initiatives” Tour

In 2009, the Grand Hotel was awarded the Green Lodging Michigan (GLM) “Partner” certification from the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor & Economic Growth (DELEG) for its comprehensive efforts to protect the environment. The award recognizes the fact that behind the scenes of the Grand Hotel and Mackinac Island are state-of-the-art programs to seek out and implement the latest technology to protect the island’s pristine environment.

The Grand Hotel viewed from the gardens below.

These efforts include:

The water-based air conditioning system Grand Hotel designed and installed in its most classic rooms

An island program that composts all biodegradable waste on the island

Changing over to energy-efficient light bulbs throughout the hotel

Offering guests an option with regards to the frequency of linen exchange

Limiting the amount of paper waste by centralizing some information instead of delivering to all guestrooms

A specially designed composting system that produces all the compost Grand Hotel uses in its signature flower beds.

It takes about a year and a half to use a compost pile, and the hotel has three piles going at any one time. Work on the piles and on the hotel’s gardens starts in the middle of April each year and goes through the middle of November. Each fall the hotel plants a ton of flower bulbs, including 25,000 tulips and 15,000 daffodils.

For the Grand Hotel and Mackinac Island, all of these initiatives are part of a continuing effort to provide modern conveniences to visitors while protecting the environment and maintaining the 19th Century charm for which both are known around the world.For the Grand Hotel and Mackinac Island, all of these initiatives are part of a continuing effort to provide modern conveniences to visitors while protecting the environment and maintaining the 19th Century charm for which both are known around the world.

Jeff took the group to the highest point on the Island, which is the site of Fort Holmes, approximately 310 feet above the surface of Lake Huron.

The site affords visitors an extraordinary view of Round Island, the Straits of Mackinac and the Mackinac Bridge.

During the tour Jeff talked about the Island’s wildlife and the impacts of human activity and invasive species on the wildlife. He also discussed the geological history of the Island, and answered questions about Mackinac Island State Park. (More)

PROGRAMA Matter of Balance: After the Aftermath - Addressing Natural Resources in Emergencies

When an emergency strikes, natural resources are inevitably affected. The goal of this Seminar is to give you an overview on how to be prepared for your role as a conservation professional or landowner when an emergency happens and natural resources are at risk. Presentations will address incident command structure, local and national case studies, and Michigan related resource concerns that are relevant to emergency response on working lands. “Preparation through education is less costly than learning through tragedy.” --Max Mayfield, Director National Hurricane Center.

Unified Response to the 2010 Enbridge Line 6b Discharge. (pptx)Note: This is a large file, 36 MB. Contains animation. You need Powerpoint Viewer 2007 or a recent version of PowerPoint to view this. If you need to upgrade your PowerPoint Viewer, go to thislink.

WORKSHOP PROGRAM

Pointing at Non-point: Finding the Source at the Watershed Scale

This afternoon technical session explored the world of watershed sediment fingerprinting research and the implications this has on how we manage the land. Participants learned about research techniques that attempt to track where erosion is really occurring in a watershed. Presentations included information about a recent study that has been conducted and is on-going in the Macatawa Watershed, a small watershed in southwest Michigan that drains directly to Lake Michigan. Participants learned how this type of research can be used by land managers and resource professionals to more effectively target conservation on the ground. We discussed how this type of research impacts how we view non-point source pollution. This research raises the question: Does the ability to track non-point source pollution make it a point source?

This tour focused on some of the Natural Features in Oakland County, Michigan. The tour started at 9:30 a.m. in the Springfield Township Hall for registration and early refreshments.

We then participated in an approximately 2 hour presentation and tour of the Shiawassee Basin Fen with the Springfield Township Parks and Recreation Department.

Then we returned to the Township Hall for a lunch of Pasties from Uncle Peter's Pasty Restaurant in Clarkston. The Oakland Conservation District was our host at lunch. Jay Blair, District Conservationist, USDA-NRCS, Lapeer, presented a program during lunch.

After lunch we traveled by bus to Oakland Township to visit and tour the Oak-Pine Barrens at Lost Lake Nature Park with the Oakland Township Parks and Recreation Department.

Then we traveled by bus to Yule Love It Lavender Farm where we had refreshments of Lavender Tea and Scones, and toured the Farm and facilities.

Then our group returned to Springfield Township to close the day.

Our Tour Hosts will included:

Oakland Conservation District (at registration and during lunch)

Springfield Township Parks and Recreation Department

Oakland Township Parks and Recreation Department

Yule Love It Lavender Farm

SWCS EAST NORTH CENTRAL REGIONLEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPHELD MAY 3 AND 4, 2012

East North Central Region Leaders pose for a picture during their tour of Enbridge/Talmadge Creek/Kalamazoo River Oil Spill remediation and restoration activities at Saylor's Landing near Marshall, Michigan.

For more information on this event, see our September 2012 Newsletter.

Energy and water are inextricably linked, according to a Great Lakes Commission Issue Brief. Called the Energy/Water Nexus, the brief states that it takes water to produce energy and it takes energy to make water available. How does this relate to Working Lands, such as Farmland and Forest Land? It takes energy to get products from working lands, and working lands produce energy in foods and fuels. The production of biofuels, such as corn-based ethanol, uses vast amounts of water. When ethanol is produced from corn that is irrigated, it can use nearly 1,000 gallons of water per gallon of fuel. It takes energy to provide this water, and energy costs money. So any practice that produces energy or reduces energy use, potentially reduces costs. This Seminar looked at the relationships of energy, water and working lands, how each impacts the others and how both conservation and wise use helps to sustain all three. For more information on the Energy/Water Nexus, see the Great Lakes Commission Issue Brief.

WORKSHOP: Energy Conservation and Agriculture

Energy Conservation on agricultural operations is not only good for the environment; it’s also good for the producer’s wallet. This session will focus on Energy and how agricultural professionals can assist producers with conserving energy on their operations. The first step is an analysis of the operation’s energy needs through a Farm Energy Audit. The session will also discuss how operations can produce energy on-farm and reduce the amount of energy needed by implementing the energy audit findings.

WORKSHOP SPEAKERS

Charles Gould, Extension Educator

Nutrient Management and Bioenergy/BiomaterialsMSU Extension

Provides relevant expertise in the areas of bioenergy, bioproducts and energy conservation to Michigan farmers that enable them to be sustainable now and in the future. Charles received his Bachelor’s degree from Utah State University and his Master’s degree from The University of Georgia. He has been with Michigan State University Extension for 16 years.

Coordinates Michigan State University and Michigan Agricultural Energy Council (MAEC) efforts in energy efficiency including working with utility providers regarding their Energy Optimization (EO) programs.

Photos of slurry seeding plots shown on our summer tour.

Simply put, ecosystem services are the multitude of benefits provided by the environment. The idea of ecosystem services is nothing new. What is new is the way that ecosystem services are being considered by conservation organizations and natural resource managers. An ecosystem approach challenges us to consider all aspects of a proposed action, not just the primary purpose. For example, a grassed waterway helps to safely convey excess water off a field to reduce erosion, but how does this practice affect wildlife? Air quality? Carbon sequestration? Join us as we explore the world of ecosystem services and how to incorporate these ideas into the ways we manage our natural resources and environment. Check the this website for program updates and registration information.

Each year the chapter hosting the SWCS Annual Conference sponsors a silent auction with the proceeds going to scholarships for college students majoring in a conservation field. The Michigan Chapter has given scholarship money to students from Michigan Tech, MSU, and Grand Valley, to name a few, studying soils, agriculture, forestry, conservation, environmental engineering and biology. This year the Michigan Chapter raised over $4,000 for their scholarship fund from their Silent Auction at the 64th Annual International Conference at Dearborn, Michigan.

A Matter of Balance: Soil and Policy/Economics/Climate Change/Public Demand

The purpose of this Seminar was to discuss the relationships between the prospect of sustainable soil productivity for future generations versus the way we have been and are managing the soil, the demands we put on our soils and the expectations we have for our soils. We looked at a brief soil history of western civilizations; the current state of our soils and our progress in conservation and management; why is soil important; the impact of climate change; and economic and policy issues that drive our decisions in soil use, management and conservation. Attendees should have gained a better understanding of the need for conservation, enhanced respect for the importance of soil and an understanding of the impact of human decisions on soil sustainability.

This seminar was intended as a professional development program for SWCS members and others who work in the field of soil conservation and management, but was also open to land users, students and anyone else interested in our soils.